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13th: Documentary Summary

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The “13th” is a documentary about the American system of incarceration and the economic forces behind racism in America especially in people of color. One of the claims that the author mentioned is that today incarceration is an extension of slavery. It is also mentioned that most of the time in society we are defined by race. In the documentary, we can see how African Americans are sentenced for many years since they are too poor to pay their fines or sometimes most of these people plead guilty to get out of jail fast. However, African Americans are separated from their families and also treated inhumanly in prisons just because they are of a particular race. Another claim is that African Americans are overrepresented as criminals in the news. Therefore, the news expresses “fear” to the white community toward black communities. …show more content…

Although slavery ended over 150 years ago, the director wants to give the audience the idea of how prison system links to slavery. Another positive thought is that they take in consideration social class on this social problem. They talked about corporations such as the CCA, which benefits from the prisoner’s punishment. For example, the SB1070 in Arizona which gave the right to the police to stop anyone and ask their status in the country. In addition, it is also mentioned that the corporation ALEC has a financial interest. Finally, the use of data regarding United States Prison population supports the idea that incarceration in the United States has increased. Lastly, I liked that Hilary Clinton and president Donald Trump are mentioned since it is seen that even today the incarceration process needs to improve when it comes to exercising

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13th is a documentary directed and produced by Ava Duvernay. The documentary dives deep into America’s prison system and America’s history of racial inequalities. The documentary contained many forms of rhetoric, including, kairos, logos, ethos, pathos, and visual rhetoric. Using these methods of rhetoric helps director Ava Duvernay get her point across to the audience.  

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As hard as it is to admit, the American justice system is flawed. The documentary Broken on All Sides explores some of the problems the American justice system has. Some of these problems include mass incarceration in America and racial injustice. This documentary begins with the discussion of the drug war which led to a massive increase of incarnated citizens in America following this was the discussion of the brutality and discrimination African Americans face when it comes to the American justice system. While still bouncing off those two main topics, the documentary begins to discuss about what life is like inside jails/prions and the problems former felons deal with once released from prison.

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By analyzing the 13th Amendment, the film argues that although slavery was legally abolished, it persisted differently through the criminal justice system. The documentary exposes mass incarceration's root causes and dire consequences, particularly for Black Americans, and calls for change in the current system.

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In her other book chapter 5 “Are Prisons Obsolete?” Angela Davis conveys the ideology of imposers using racism’s and prison labor for profit in advantage to the elites. She expresses her claim by including the data of black males

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Review of the movie 13th The movie 13th is a documentary by director Ava DuVernay. The title of the film refers to the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery. According to the opening message, one fourth of the world prison population is stored at the territory of the United States. Most imprisoned people in the U.S are people of color.

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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, M. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: The New Press. Michelle Alexander in her book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" argues that law enforcement officials routinely racially profile minorities to deny them socially, politically, and economically as was accustomed in the Jim Crow era.

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American Journal of Political Science. Hurwitz and Peffley write on how stereotypes about African Americans have an effect on people’s attitudes towards crime and policy. The authors discuss the link on race and crime and how the media has a lot to do with it. This work will be helpful to my research because of the stereotype linking blacks to crime. It will support my thesis on how race is spread throughout

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The film 13th directed by Ava DuVernay targets an intended audience of the Media and the three branches of the United States government with an emphasis that mass incarceration is an extension of slavery. It is intended to inform viewers about the criminalization of African Americans and the United States prison boom. 13th uses rhetorical devices in its claim to persuade the viewers by using exemplum in the opening seconds of the film. President Barack Obama presents statistics, saying “the United States is home to 5% of the world’s population but is home to 25% of the world’s prisoners.” Also the film uses a hyperbole in talking about the movie Birth of a Nation produced in 1915 which portrays a black man as a violent savage who will kill white women.

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13th Documentary Analysis Ava DuVernay’s documentary mentions that the United States makes up five percent of the world’s population yet is home to twenty five percent of the world’s prisoners. One out of four prisoners in the world are locked up in the U.S. The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. The thirteenth amendment of the constitution makes it unconstitutional for someone to be held as a slave.

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In her book, The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander who was a civil rights lawyer and legal scholar, reveals many of America’s harsh truths regarding race within the criminal justice system. Though the Jim Crow laws have long been abolished, a new form has surfaced, a contemporary system of racial control through mass incarceration. In this book, mass incarceration not only refers to the criminal justice system, but also a bigger picture, which controls criminals both in and out of prison through laws, rules, policies and customs. The New Jim Crow that Alexander speaks of has redesigned the racial caste system, by putting millions of mainly blacks, as well as Hispanics and some whites, behind bars

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Michelle Alexander, similarly, points out the same truth that African American men are targeted substantially by the criminal justice system due to the long history leading to racial bias and mass incarceration within her text “The New Jim Crow”. Both Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Michelle Alexander’s text exhibit the brutality and social injustice that the African American community experiences, which ultimately expedites the mass incarceration of African American men, reflecting the current flawed prison system in the U.S. The American prison system is flawed in numerous ways as both King and Alexander points out. A significant flaw that was identified is the injustice of specifically targeting African American men for crimes due to the racial stereotypes formed as a result of racial formation. Racial formation is the accumulation of racial identities and categories that are formed, reconstructed, and abrogated throughout history.

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“African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population.” The majority group of this statistic are people who come from african american backgrounds. The fact that black people are to make up nearly half of the prison population alone, really conveys the rate at which they are being arrested. Black men are often victims of racial profiling by police. They are targeted by police officers, and security guards, and are accused of crimes unrelated to them, simply on the basis of their skin color.

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Over the decades, mass incarceration has become an important topic that people want to discuss due to the increasing number of mass incarceration. However, most of the people who are incarceration are people of color. This eventually leads to scholars concluding that there is a relationship between mass incarceration and the legacy of slavery. The reason is that people of color are the individuals who are overrepresented in prison compared to whites. If you think about it, slavery is over and African Americans are no longer mistreated; however, that is not the case as African Americans continue to face oppression from the government and police force.

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There is disagreement in society about how the purpose of the prison system should be considered. On one hand, the regulations of the prison system may seek deterrence, incapacitation, or retribution to avoid appearing too soft on inmates. On the other hand, the regulations of the prison system may seek to opportunities to re-socialize prisoners or to effect changes in the character, attitudes,

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After working with these men for months, you begin to look past the societal mask they are forced to wear due to their past mistakes, and begin to see them as real genuine people. [Thesis and Preview] Life after prison affects all realms of a community. Through the process of leaving prison, to jobs, and to living conditions, I hope we have a better understanding on life after incarceration from this speech.

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